Solving a targeting puzzle: Type III-B DNA cleavage

Type III CRISPR systems are unusual in part because they have multiple mechanisms for cleaving nucleic acids, and target both RNA and DNA, but the latter only in a transcription-dependent matter. A 2016 paper from the Bailey lab in Genes and Development filled in key pieces of the puzzle about Type III systems, helping to clarify two major questions: What are the specific RNA and DNA targets of Type III complex? And what mechanisms control and coordinate the RNA and DNA cleavage activities?

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Viewing a Cascade

In 2014, three labs completed structures of different versions of the Cascade complex, in three papers published at the same time – including one led by Sabin Mulepati, a then-PhD student in the Bailey lab. Sabin used x-ray crystallography to determine the structure of Cascade bound to a single strand of target DNA that matched the Cascade crRNA, to a resolution of 3 angstroms.

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CRISPR Primer expands with Type II sections

Our CRISPR Primer now covers Type II CRISPR systems!

When we launched our CRISPR Primer last fall we focused on Type I and III systems, the subject of much of our lab’s current research. For our first expansion of the Primer, we’ve added information about Type II systems, also known as CRISPR-Cas9 systems.

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Sarah Studerprimer